In the Mirror
by Beev
Summary: Following the events of the Tower of Rem, Luke and Tear privately reflect upon their experiences with one another. [LukexTear][Various spoilers, up to and including the Tower of Rem]
1. Tear's Thoughts

_Author's Notes: _Separately-spaced lines in quotations are spoken dialog, separately-spaced lines in italics are internal dialog. This is my first time writing something like this (that is, a fanfic), and it's not something I'd normally do, so I ask that reviewers keep that in mind when...well, _reviewing._ I tried to stay as true to the plot as possible, but it's been awhile since I played Abyss, so it's possible I got a few minor details wrong. The story will probably be three chapters long. Oh, and I own nothing. I think that's about all I wanted to cover, so... Enjoy._  
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Luke fon Fabre._

He was all Tear could think about as she stared out the window of one of the guest rooms of Duke Fabre's manor. She had spoken to Luke only hours ago about what she had learned from Mieu... that Luke was going to disappear as a result of neutralizing the miasma at the Tower of Rem. Ever since then, Tear couldn't help but reflect upon the past, and how she felt about him.

Tear remembered telling Luke not to think for a second that she stayed behind in Yulia City for him when everyone else had abandoned him, remembered being worried about him for reasons she didn't know at the time, despite her disgust with his attitude until he resolved to change after Akzeriuth; she recalled when she realized she could see herself being more than a friend to Luke... it was when the group cleared the first Sephiroth and Luke hugged her, thanking her for her help. Tear was taken aback by the gesture, of course, but she was even more so when she found herself a little short of breath and felt her knees weaken ever so slightly as he held her; she knew a reaction like that wasn't simple surprise.

_I'm glad no one seemed to notice...  
_

Tear rested against the wall as she watched the sky lose its last bit of sun to the horizon, and found her mind wandering to when Luke bought back her mother's pendant for her. He had spent a great deal of money on it, which may not have been such a wise decision when considering the state of the party's finances at the time (something she normally would've scolded Luke for), but when he handed her the pendant and walked away before his face got any redder, she just wanted to hug him tightly and never let go. Tear's cheeks turned bright red just thinking about it, something that would be hard to see now as the guest room darkened further.

Emotionally exhausted, Tear lightly stepped away from the window and sat down on the single bed in the room. She wanted to stop thinking about Luke, to stop hurting, but the more she tried not to think about it, the more her mind wandered back to him. Finally, she gave in and thought about the promise she had made to Luke in Yulia City, her promise that she would watch him change... and change he did. Before her eyes, Luke had changed from a sheltered, spoiled brat to a kind, caring person struggling to find his place in the world, to the more confident man who had finally realized the value of his own life who emerged from the Tower of Rem. Tear had grown to romantically love Luke over all the time she had watched and spent with him; she had never been good with that kind of thing, but she at least knew what she felt. She even felt like she could spend the rest of her life with Luke. But...

_But is this it, Luke? Are you really going to just disappear...? I...I wish you hadn't...! I wish I could've stopped you... _Tear sighed heavily and placed her hand on her chest, falling backwards onto the bed.

After some more thinking, Tear decided she could only do one thing to calm herself down, at least for the time being. She knew doing said thing would be very hard, but she didn't want to add physical exhaustion onto her emotional exhaustion, considering all the battles the party had to fight. That, and because Tear felt that looking weak would make everyone, Luke especially, worry about her, and she thought that showing that weakness would make her a bad soldier.

"Luke... I need to talk to Luke," she said to herself as she lifted her tired body from the bed and walked to the guest room door.


	2. Luke's Thoughts

_A/N: _I own nothing.

_Tear Grants._

She was the only thing on Luke's mind as he laid on his bed in his room, head resting on his overlapped hands. On his stomach sat Mieu, attached to his master as ever.

"Mieu, why'd you have to tell Tear that I'm going to disappear? Stupid Thing!" Luke glared at the cheagle.

"Mieuuuuu..."

Luke sighed and stared at the ceiling. _Guess there's no point in getting mad at him..._

"S-Sorry. I just didn't want to hurt Tear by letting her find out..."

Tear always tried to be strong, to be a good soldier, but Luke could tell she was pretty upset about Luke's condition when she confronted him about it. _Poor Tear... I'm sorry._

"Master, you really like Tear, don't you?" Mieu jumped up and down on his master's stomach, grinning ear to floppy ear at the thought.

"Sh-shut up!" Luke looked off to the side to avoid eye contact with Mieu, embarrassed.

Luke really did like Tear, a lot. No, more than that... Luke loved Tear. Over the course of their journey, Luke found himself thinking of Tear more and more often, even staying close to her in battles to make sure she wasn't harmed.

_The journey..._

Luke remembered when it first began, just he and Tear in Tataroo Valley. Luke was amazed by her beauty, even in the darkness of that night. The way her long, light brown hair blew in the cool breeze, and the way her bangs hid one of her bright blue eyes (Luke thought it made her look somewhat mysterious, which, in addition to just looking attractive to Luke, certainly fit her); the light tone of her skin; even the size of her breasts was perfect.

_I probably shouldn't think about that last one too much..._

Of course, before Akzeriuth, Luke thought her appearance (and her singing voice) was as deep as her beauty went; she always acted so coldly towards him, and, for the most part, treated him with the same condescending, you're-not-worth-my-time attitude as everyone else in the party. But when Luke resolved to change himself, his opinion of Tear also changed. He saw that, though she always tried to hide it, Tear had worries and fears and dreams, moments of joy and moments of sadness just like anyone else, and that underneath that emotional armor of hers was a warm, gentle, caring woman whom Luke had grown to love very much. That thought led Luke to one thing in particular—Tear was the first person to have faith in his ability to change. The promise she made—and kept—was probably the kindest, most meaningful thing anyone had done for him. She even lent Luke support when some of the other members of their group were less than welcoming towards him when he returned to the Outer Lands.

_She really is... heavenly, both inside and out._

The noble then sat up on his bed, looking down and chuckling at the sight of Mieu hanging on for dear life to his shirt. Luke had forgotten there was a cheagle on his stomach as he sat up. Oops.

"Mieu, I'm going to go talk to Tear, okay? It's the least I can do for her considering all that she's going through, and all that she's done for me..." Luke placed his hand on the back of his head and tilted his head downwards. He knew he wasn't good with words, but he felt he had to do something.

Mieu hopped into his master's lap and then onto the bed, jumping up and down and clapping his hands together a few times, fighting thoughts of eavesdropping on their conversation. "Good luck, Master! I hope it goes well!"

"...Thanks, Mieu." _His cheerfulness is as annoying as ever..._

Luke stood up and headed for the bedroom door.


	3. The Meeting

_Author's Notes:_ I'd just like to thank everyone who took the time to read this fic, and everyone who reviewed/reviews it. This chapter was significantly harder to write than the first two (especially as far as writing Tear), but I hope everyone who reads it likes the way it turned out. Oh, and I own nothing. Enjoy.

Darkness had now completely overtaken Baticul, bringing with it a mild breeze. Dark clouds covered the sky, hiding the stars; the sight looked rather ominous, save for the moon, which poked through. It was in the dim light of that moon that two figures met in the courtyard of Duke Fabre's manor.

"Luke? Is that you?"

The figure being spoken to jumped, obviously not paying any attention to his surroundings.

"T-Tear? Yeah, it's me. I, uh, I was just coming to talk to you..."

"Oh? I was just coming to talk to _you_..."

Luke and Tear instinctively turned their faces away from the other, not considering the fact that the darkness was hiding their embarrassment for them. The silence between the two became increasingly awkward, until Luke said something to break it.

"S-so, what did you need to talk to me about, Tear?"

Tear began to panic. _Can I really do this...? I don't think I can, but..._

"I... wanted to talk to you about earlier... about what I found out." All the things Tear had thought about and felt over the past few hours once again pushed their way to the front of her mind, leaving her feeling so overwhelmed that she began to feel weak, prompting her to sit down on one of the benches in the courtyard.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, too," Luke started. "I-I wanted to make sure you were okay."

_Luke... He's worried about me, even when he should be more worried about himself..._

Luke sat next to Tear, inching closer to her until their arms touched. Tear found herself enjoying the closeness, but she leaned forward and to the side, making sure Luke couldn't see the sadness in her expression, then closed her eyes and began to lose herself in thought.

"I'm not. But I can handle it. I only wanted to see how you were holding up."

It was obvious to Luke that, though she had at least admitted that much to him (that is, that she wasn't okay), Tear was still wearing her emotional armor; however, Luke noticed that her body was exposing a chink in that armor.

"Tear, I know you're just as scared as I am. You're shaking, I can feel it."

Upon hearing his words, Tear opened her eyes in surprise. _I-I am?_

Sure enough, Tear's arms and legs were trembling. Even her lips were betraying her calm attitude, though Luke couldn't see that. Tear leaned against the back of the bench and sighed heavily. _I must've been so deep in thought that I didn't even notice..._

"...You're right. I _am_ scared... and worried, and confused, and sad. I... I don't know what to do, Luke. Why did things have to happen like this? I... I don't want you to die..." Tear trailed off, unable to say more than that. She placed her hand on her chest and closed her eyes again, trying to calm herself and steady her breathing.

_I knew it... I can't do this, even if it is Luke._

Luke tilted his head downwards and stared at the ground, trying to find the words, trying not to let Tear down when she needed him. _Tear... I'm so sorry. I wish I had let Asch neutralize the miasma instead..._

Luke turned to Tear and, seeing that he was losing her to her thoughts again, held her gloved hand in his, threading his fingers between hers. Luke smiled, if only briefly. _Even her hands have a certain... beauty about them._

"Tear, look at me."

Tear turned her back to Luke, her eyes beginning to well up. The thought of turning to face him made her tremble even harder. She didn't want anyone to see who was underneath the armor, especially not like this.

"Luke! I don't want you to--"

"Fine... just listen." Luke swallowed, trembling just as hard as Tear was; he was afraid that Tear would shut down on him, that he'd fail her. The only thing he could do now was say exactly what he felt, however ineloquently it came out, and hope it was the right thing.

"I-I wish I could promise you that I was going to survive, that everything was going to be okay, but... I couldn't make you a promise that I wasn't sure I could keep. I-I don't know what's going to happen, b-but I know that, as long as I'm still here, I want to make the best of... of that time. A-a-and I want to do that, w-with you—together. I know that won't be easy to do with this... dark cloud over our heads, but I-I hope you're willing to try... W-we have to start with what we _can_ do, r-right? Th-that's what you used to say to me..."

Luke squeezed Tear's hand, probably out of nervousness, and just... sat. It had been five, maybe ten minutes--however long it was, it felt like an eternity to both Luke and Tear--and she still hadn't faced him, still hadn't said anything, but she squeezed his hand just as hard as he squeezed hers. Was she thinking about what he said, or had she shut down on him as he feared?

_...I said something wrong, didn't I? Guess that's no surprise... Man, I'm such an idiot... Sorry, Tear..._

Luke had given up, when suddenly he gasped. Before he knew what was going on, Tear not only turned to face him, she had leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. Tear's head was resting against his shoulder... and Luke could feel her breasts pressed against his chest, too. Luke absorbed this knowledge and, after wading through a raging river of impure thoughts, could only find the words, "T-T-Tear?! Wh-wh-what--"

"Shh," Tear said, looking up at Luke with a smile, her eyes still glossy. Her whole demeanor had changed: she seemed much more collected, much... happier. "I'm still not okay, of course, but what you said made me feel a lot calmer... Thank you, Luke."

"Wh-what did I say that made you feel so much better...?" Luke was absolutely puzzled, going through his words over and over, trying to figure it out before he had to be told.

"You're right. We have to start with what we can do, and if making the best of this time is all that we can do for now, then we'll do it. Making me realize that helped... But knowing that you feel about me the way I feel about you helped the most."

Luke's eyes widened when he heard the last thing she said. _Sh-she knows...? So much for my last secret..._

"B-but I didn't--"

"You don't have to say it. I can tell."

Luke opened his mouth as if to say something, but he simply smiled back at Tear and wrapped his arms around her in return, making this the couple's first (consensual) hug. "...I'm glad you're doing better."

Tear rested her head against Luke's chest once again and, after a few moments of blissful silence, said, "'You're right.'"

Luke looked down at her, confused. "Huh?"

"'You're right.' I've said that to you twice tonight. Something _must_ be wrong..."

"H-h-hey!"

Tear laughed to herself and looked up at Luke again. "I'm only kidding."

"I-I know."

Tear once again placed her head against Luke's chest, keeping it there this time. Silence fell between them once again until Tear thought aloud, "I suppose I'm not as great a soldier as I thought."

Luke stirred a little bit and rubbed her lower back gently. "Maybe you're not... But I think you're a much better person than you let people believe."

"Luke..." Tear blushed bright red and felt at peace for the first time since finding about about Luke's condition. Before she closed her eyes, one last thought crossed her mind:

_He's defied everyone's expectations before... He can do it again._

She fell asleep there, in Luke's arms, and Luke did the same. Luke and Tear knew they couldn't stay like that all night—they didn't want the party to see them like that, after all—but they felt that being like this, everything would be okay, if only for as long as they held one another.

As the couple drifted off to sleep, the whispered cheers of a certain "sacred beast" could be heard if one listened closely enough...

_Author's Notes:_ I hope the way I wrote Tear isn't too...controversial, for lack of a better word. I have an explanation of my thought process ready to put in this space if I need to, but hopefully, I'm just worrying myself over nothing like usual. Anyways, thanks again for reading.


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